


I'm Your Leading Man

by bigred_ashlyn



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Unrequited Crush, carrie likes julie, her mom isn't dead yet, julie has superpowers, julie likes nick, julie nick carrie flynn are all one band, lesbian Carrie, no ghosts, zep! au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28906125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigred_ashlyn/pseuds/bigred_ashlyn
Summary: When Carrie helps Julie write a duet, she expects to me Julie's duet partner only for the part to go to Nick. Understandably, she is a little upset. The fact that Julie can hear her thoughts doesn't help matters.
Relationships: Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Nick
Kudos: 7





	1. If You Give a Guy a Chance

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first songfic and I'm so excited. If you enjoy, comment!! and leave kudos ofc!

It had started shortly after her mom got sick.

Maybe she had it before then but that was an intuition thing where she could feel the vague emotion. The broad idea of where it fit on the spectrum. But this? This was specific. This was pinpoint. This had accuracy. And the only one who knew was Flynn.

“So apparently I can hear people’s thoughts now. Yep, that definitely sounds crazy,” Julie had said to her, about a week after the diagnosis.

The timing definitely didn’t make her sound less crazy.

Yet, Flynn had only shrugged and said, “Maybe it’ll go away. But otherwise think of it as a cool perk. Haven’t you ever found yourself wondering what goes on in some people’s heads? Now you kinda know.”

“The song form of it does make sense. I do love music a lot. Actual thoughts would be more helpful though.”

“I guess you can’t win the superpower lottery,” Flynn shrugged. “Are you going to tell Carrie and Nick?”

“I was going to, but Carrie’s acting weird. And I’m not that close with Nick. Can’t have him thinking I’m crazy and quit the band.”

“Ah, where would we find another drummer?”

That was a month ago. 

Julie plunked notes on the piano in her mom’s old studio (which she found oddly comforting at times despite her mom not using it anymore) as she scribbled the corresponding notes on paper whenever she hit the right melody. She’d gotten to know Nick better, and along with being a good drummer, he could also sing. And he was cute. Julie was still scribbling notes and lyrics as she heard a knock on the doors to the studio. She let go of her pencil, letting it rest on top of the piano, and she scooted out her stool.

“Who is it?” Julie asked.

“Uh, me. I asked you about coming over this morning? I even verified with text. Like three times.”

“Come in, Carrie,” Julie rolled her eyes, scooting back in.

Carrie was good at this songwriting thing. She could probably help Julie finish the song. And besides she would understand wanting to sing it with Nick. If Julie was reading it correctly, Carrie had a small crush on him too. Carrie walked through the door, wearing her signature pink and her hair as curly as ever.

“Are-are you busy with something?” she asked, noticing the sheet music and pencil resting on the piano.

“Kinda. But you could probably help. You’re good at this stuff.”

“Yeah of course! It’s just that your songs are usually private until you show them to us. I don’t think you’ve ever let me in on the editorial process.”

“First time for everything, Carrie.”

“Cool. So what’s the song about?” she asks, walking towards the piano, still eyeing the sheet music.

“Well, I thought it could be a romantic duet,” Julie said, picking up the music.

Carrie’s eyes widened and her heart did a little pitter patter. She shook off the feeling and stood next to where Julie sat on the piano stool.

“Scoot over. This is going to feel awkward if I’ve leaning over you while we do this.”

“Yeah, okay,” Julie scooted over and Carrie quickly went and sat down.

“Can I see what you have so far?”

Julie nodded and placed the music right on the piano stand in the middle of them. Carrie’s eyes fell on the title written at the top Casting Call. She turned to Julie and smiled.

“Movie themed. I am so into this.”

Julie smiled back. It took them several hours but even that felt like time flying. Julie noticed that Carrie smiled a lot while writing songs and made a mental note to include her on projects like these most often. At one point, Julie took a break, going into her house to grab snacks and water, and by the time she got back Carrie had sketched out three more lines of lyrics. She needed Julie’s help adding melody to them though. They pitched the song to the group at their Friday night practice. Carrie giddy let Julie take the lead in announcing who would be singing it and when.

“As our lead singer, I figured I would pick the duet partner, and assuming that they’re okay with singing more than their usual backup vocals, they would sing it with me. Now this group member-” Julie always wanting to be dramatic left out pronouns, “has shown tremendous potential, works hard, is reliable and I’m sure won’t let me down. So give it up for… Flynn, drumroll please-” Flynn drum rolled and Carrie bounced on her toes.

She couldn’t help herself from grinning wide as Flynn’s hands slapped against the piano. Flynn finished and Julie started looking at… Nick?

“Nick!” the name boomed out of Julie’s mouth and Carrie let out an exhale.

Nick? Seriously?

As Julie walked over to Nick, she could hear singing. Not from Flynn. Not from Nick. It belonged to Carrie, and it wasn’t Carrie’s typical singing voice. No, this was sweetened. This was tuned. This was the special singing.

Oh _no_.

Julie turned around to find Carrie (fake Carrie in her head) strolling towards Nick with her arms crossed against her chest and her lips in a pout.

 _“How do I lose out to a guy who’s average at best?”_ Okay, so this was about the song.

She was now standing next to Nick and used her hands to frame his face. _“A face that’s easy on the eyes, but a name you’ll soon forget._ ” She stepped backwards and dropped her hands. _“He’s just more of the same.”_ She raised her hands and placed them over her blue textured coat right where her heart would be. _“So let me take his place. That should be me.”_ Carrie pranced back towards the piano and extended her hand towards Julie, _“and you know why.”_ Julie lifted her eyebrows and let herself take Carrie’s hand. Carrie pulled her away from the piano and towards the couch.

 _“I’ll never let you down, never let you down.”_ She gently pulled Julie back and forth, letting her sway on the balls of her feet. _“If you give a guy a chance_.” Carrie let go of Julie’s hand hesitantly before grabbing her shoulder and twisting her body to face Nick back at his drum kit. “ _He’ll only let you down, only let you down_.” Carrie walked around Julie so that she stood blocking Nick from Julie’s line of sight.

 _“You best believe,”_ she pointed towards Julie and then back at herself, _“I’m your leading man._ ”

“Carrie?” Julie asked, breaking the song. They were back to where they stood initially.

“Yes, Julie,” the voice was small but definitely based in reality.

“Do you wanna talk? In private?” she asked directly before turning her attention back to Nick, and Flynn who stood bored, “won’t be longer than fifteen minutes. Promise.”

“If you think we should then, okay.”

“Yeah, okay. Come on.”

_I'm your leading man._


	2. You Have a Crush on Him, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> julie and carrie talk. julie tells carrie about her superpowers, and carrie doesn't take what that means well in any sense of the word.

Julie knew that she had to word this the right way. The right way to not sound crazy. The right way to not upset Carrie. The right way to fix whatever was going on between Carrie and her, rather than continue to tear them apart. 

Telling Flynn had just been so much easier. And now, Carrie was staring at her. There was admiration in her eyes, yes. But her arms were also crossed across her chest. Her foot tapped anxiously while Julie blinked. 

“You said there was something to talk about, Julie. What is it?” 

Julie leaned her head in and blinked faster. “Right. Right. I  _ did  _ say that. The thing is hhh-” 

“The thing is,” Carrie gestured a circle with her right hand. 

With no other options, Julie blurted it out. “I have superpowers.” 

Carrie laughed, showing her pearly white teeth.

“Whatever it is you can tell me. You don’t have to  _ lie. _ ” 

“I’m not. Lying. I do have superpowers.” 

“Right. Okay? What are they?” 

“I can hear people’s thoughts. But like in song form.” 

“Riight. So am I just supposed to believe you?” 

Julie nodded. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and Carrie straightened her posture. 

“So why are you telling me this?” 

“I heard you. After I gave the solo to Nick, you sang to me. A song. And I guess I’m still trying to figure out what it meant.” 

Carrie raised her eyebrows. “If I sang to you, wouldn’t I know?” 

Julie shook her head. “No. The people singing don’t realize they’re singing.” 

“So you just get an insight to people. And people don’t get that insight back?” 

Julie looked down. “No. I guess they don’t.” 

That part of the deal hadn’t ever occurred to her. Maybe because she was glad to have the insight especially since emotions had felt like way more work lately. But perhaps that was because hers were overpowering. 

What was life even going to be like without her mom? 

Julie pushed the thought away and returned to the problem at hand. Carrie. Carrie’s song. Whatever the song meant. 

Carrie sighed. “Please tell me it wasn’t embarrassing. Whatever I sang.” 

“No,” Julie shook her head. 

Something that pretty couldn’t be embarrassing. 

Carrie took a step back and started pacing the length of the room. Flynn and Nick had left upon Julie’s wanting to talk to Carrie in private. Which probably just meant that they were outside listening in. So there was now the chance that Nick knew too. 

“Yeah, I don’t believe that. My thoughts-there’s no way I didn’t sing something embarrassing.” 

“You didn’t. It’s just something we should talk about.” 

“No, no. You see this face. This is a  _ constructed  _ face. Everything, everything, is  _ constructed. _ ” 

Julie hesitated before walking towards Carrie. 

“ _ Carrie- _ ” Julie placed herself in Carrie’s path, interrupting her pacing. 

She placed her hands on Carrie’s shoulders and gently squeezed. “Stop pacing. Okay? Talk. Talk to  _ me. _ ” 

Carrie nodded. “Okay. So, uh, what did I sing then?” 

Julie loosened her grip on Carrie and tried to find the words again. She swept her hands off of Carrie’s shoulders and back to the sides of her green camo jumpsuit. 

“I don’t know the song. But you said the words ‘leading man’ a ton of times. So maybe that was the title. But the messages are probably more important than the title. I think you were upset about Nick getting the solo. You called him average, pretty but forgetful. Said that he’ll only let me down but you wouldn’t. Which given your interactions with Nick weren’t surprising. He’s cool when you get to know him though. And-” 

“You have a crush on him, right? That is why he’s in the band,” Carrie scoffed. 

“He’s my  _ friend.  _ That’s why he’s in the band.” 

“And you gave a romantic duet to Nick because he’s your  _ friend _ ?” 

Julie sighed. She gestured with her right hand. “Yeah, okay. I like him. So what?” 

“Why didn’t you invite him to write the song with you then?” 

“What are you talking about?” Julie asked, narrowing her eyebrows. 

“It doesn’t matter. We should probably get Nick and Flynn back and go back to rehears-” 

“ _ No.  _ What are you talking about Carrie?” 

“You let me write the song with you.  _ We  _ wrote a romantic duet  _ together.  _ And yes it was somewhat detached because of the movie theme. But it was still  _ us.  _ It was still  _ me. _ ” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. And you lied. This  _ was  _ embarrassing,” Carrie blurted, before storming off past the garage doors. 

“Congrats on the solo, Nick,” she said before the tears would come. 

She inflicted as much poison into her voice as her emotions would allow. 

Carrie wasn’t mad at Nick, not really. He was just an easier target than the way her eyes naturally gravitated towards Julie’s. Or how she was constantly on edge around Julie, how she just knew where her hands were. And how much she wanted to be holding them. 

Nick shot a confused look to Flynn. “... Thanks?” 

Flynn grabbed hold of Nick’s elbow and dragged him back into the studio. 

“Uh, what happened?” Flynn asked. 

“The duet. Carrie’s upset about the duet.” 

“Yeah, that tracks.” 

“Did she think she was going to get it?” Nick asked, confused. “It’s a  _ romantic  _ duet. Carrie’s not exactly the romance type.” 

“Yeah, she’s kinda angry.” 

Julie laughed. “She just helped me write it.” 

Flynn smiled slightly. “You’re writing with other people now?” 

“I think so. But not if each song comes with a fallout like this.”

“It won’t, Julie,” Nick said. 

Julie wasn’t sure whether Nick’s words should be taken lightly or deeper. Would he want to write a song with her? 

“Did either of you see where Carrie went?” 

“I’m assuming home. But perhaps we should give her time to cool off.”

Julie nodded at Flynn. Carrie did usually require a cool off time. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Julie said. 

“Movie time then? Since we can’t really have practice without Carrie,” Nick suggested. 

Julie and Flynn nodded. “Movie time.” 


	3. Indulgent Carrie Section

The last thing Carrie expected was a text from Nick. From Julie, it was almost expected. Flynn, yeah it wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary. But Nick? Almost a high school movie stereotype because he manages to look like That, Nick? Carrie forgot most days that he even had her number. Not that she gave it out to him willingly. No. He got it through a band group text. Prior to that, he already had Flynn and Julie’s number. So really it wasn’t Carrie giving him her number, as much as a master of elimination deducing. Focus on elimination, not deducing. Carrie wasn’t sure if Nick was able to deduce anything. 

Yep, and if anyone could hear her now, they’d say she’s being mean again. Carrie has a habit of being mean when she’s upset. A habit she should really try to fix one of these days. Her dad would definitely be supportive of her trying to be a better person. He’s all about that self improvement. 

It wasn’t a long text. 

_ BLAND WHITE BOY:  _

Okay, yeah. Carrie was mean in the nickname. But really, what was so  _ special  _ about Nick? 

_ BLAND WHITE BOY: didn’t realize that you wanted the duet. Didn’t pick you for romantic type. U ok? Talk later?  _

Carrie sighed. Was this supposed to be a peace effort? She opened the text. 

She started typing a response. 

WHAT EVEN IS A ROMANTIC TYPE?? AND HOW AM I NOT IT?? 

She deleted her words. 

Julie had already seen a more vulnerable part of her today, and Julie was her  _ friend.  _ Nick wasn’t. 

Well, he tried. 

But he wasn’t her friend. 

Carrie didn’t  _ want  _ to be friends with him. 

She stared at the empty bar, and the frustration inducing heat in her body cooled a little at knowing she’d turned off her read receipts long ago. Nick wouldn’t even know she read the text yet. 

Carrie clicked her phone to sleep and started putting it down on an end-table before turning it back on. Her phone rested safely in her left hand as she started clicking out another response. 

_ :You didn’t know. I’ll get over it. Did u end practice early cuz of me?  _

She sent it. 

It didn’t sound angry. 

It didn’t sound bitter. 

It sounded almost. Nice. 

Oh no, what if Nick thought it sounded too nice and tried to be friends again. Well, it was already sent. 

It was followed by a text from Julie. 

_ QUEEN J <3 <3 : you should’ve said something about the duet. I really didn’t know that it mattered to you. Usually these types of things don’t.  _

Carrie scoffed, resisting the urge to call Julie up and give her a piece of her mind. 

She wrote the song. Why wouldn’t it matter to you?

It was followed up by another text. 

_ QUEEN J <3 <3: i really don’t wanna fight w u. We decided to watch a movie. U can come back over and watch it w us. No emotions or song talk needed.  _

Carrie sighed. 

She started typing a response. 

_ : my dad’s actually home, and i’ve barely spent time w him this week. You know my dad. Wants to spend time together. Wants us to bond or something. Idk.  _

Julie responded quickly. 

_ QUEEN J <3 <3: we good tho?  _

Carrie looked down at the text. Was that all this boiled down to? A “we good” text? 

Julie clearly didn’t feel the same way, and Carrie had to accept that. And besides, Carrie’s dad  _ was  _ home. And she had barely seen him all week. He had some business with some old band of his. He kept droning on about it in texts, but Carrie usually just skimmed through those. 

Carrie’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. Lying would be so easy right now. And almost even satisfying. 

Just typing a yes. A yeah. A ofc. A yeah with a smiley face. Or a smiling dog picture accompanied with  _ definitely  _ or  _ duh.  _

Another text came in from Nick. She clicked out of the text chain with Julie and onto the one with BLAND WHITE GUY. no emojis. Not even a picture. Carrie read it. 

BLAND WHITE GUY:  _ yea. For it to be band practice, all members of the band kinda have to b there. But we’re watching a movie. jules said that she invited u over. You should come.  _

For some reason the words to say felt easier to say to Nick now than they did to julie. Or jules, as Nick called her. Carrie couldn’t remember when he started doing that, but it’d been a while. 

:  _ don’t think that i should. But thx for the invite. Have to spend time with my dad anyway.  _

BLAND WHITE GUY: ok. Tell ur dad hi for me. 

Will do? Having a famous dad really didn’t help with acquaintances. They always wanted to say hi, or be introduced. Or maybe that was just friendly puppy dog Nick? 

Carrie had never understood boys, and she was probably never going to. Especially since she realized she was a lesbian. 

Girls, was she right? 

Not that she had told anyone yet. She hadn’t even yet told Julie. And Julie was the closest thing she had to a best friend. 

The best friend adjacent whose text she still hadn’t responded to. She should probably do that. Ugh. 

: _ of course. Just need time to cool off. :) luv u  _

It was a few minutes before a response. 

QUEEN J <3 <3 :  _ phew. Would hate to be fighting. Especially with all the stuff w my mom right now. I don’t want to lose 2 important people in my life at once. Luv u.  _

Carrie smiled. Yeah, okay. Maybe she wasn’t Nick. But she was still important to Julie. 

“Carrie? Are you home?” her father called. 

Carrie turned off her cell phone and dropped it onto the table. “Yeah, dad!” 

“I thought you had rehearsal.” 

“Ended early.” 

“Oh. You want to hang out then?” 

“Sure.” 


End file.
